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Private jet travel gives you the freedom to fly around the world at your whim, you can fly from the Caribbean islands at the last minute or fly to a business meeting with no hassle. But how much does it cost? Whether you are purchasing your own jet or looking to rent a business jet for your next flight, one of the most important factors is price.
Buying a private jet
The first consideration when buying a private jet is deciding the size of the jet that is most comfortable for you and meets all of your needs.
Private jets come in a variety of sizes: small turboprop or light jets, midsize to super-midsize jets, heavy jets, or luxury executive jets.
The second important factor is what distances you will be flying the most. For example, if you fly a small plane over a long distance, you will have to stop for refueling, which increases the cost of the flight and travel time. On the other hand, short flights in a large plane are quite expensive.
The next factor is whether you want a new or used aircraft. Here are some examples of basic prices for some aircraft models:
- Cessna Citation M2 – a light aircraft that can accommodate up to 7 people, in a new state costs about 260 million rubles;
- Learjet 75 – a popular medium-sized aircraft that can accommodate 9 passengers, costs about 770 million rubles;
- Gulfstream G650 – ultra luxurious heavy aircraft for 10 passengers, with a base cost of about 3.7 billion rubles;
- Bombardier Global 6000 (17 seats) – 3.5 billion rubles.
Aircraft lifespan is measured in flight hours and landings, not age, which is why private jets are often viable for decades. Many buyers choose to purchase used aircraft to cut costs. For example, the price of a used Cessna Citation M2 aircraft starts from 200 million rubles, and for a Learjet 75 aircraft – from 400 million rubles, for a used Gulfstream g650 C, on average, 3.5 billion rubles will be requested and 2.9 billion for a Bombardier Global 6000. …
But the costs don't end there. Once the plane is purchased, the biggest expense for the owners is its maintenance, which can cost from hundreds of thousands to several billion rubles a year. A new aircraft is expensive, but comes with a full warranty to cover any repairs or parts replacement during the first few years of ownership.
Additional costs for private jet owners include safety inspections, insurance, fuel, hangar, pilot and crew salaries. And also, if you want to order a unique interior for your aircraft – it can cost you a round sum, a luxury aircraft interior design costs about 5.7 billion rubles.
Private jet charter
Given the high cost of owning a jet, renting a private jet is a much better option for most travelers as it offers all the convenience of private jet travel without the cost of maintaining an aircraft. But at the same time, when renting a private charter, travelers pay for fuel costs, airport taxes, boarding fees, crew costs and passenger taxes, and expensive service fees are borne by the owner of the aircraft.
By chartering a private jet, travelers can reduce costs by choosing the perfect jet for each individual trip. One week you could fly a small turboprop jet like the five-seat Piper PA-34 Seneca from Boston to Nantucket for 170,000 rubles, and then the next week, fly your entire team to Chicago for a business meeting in an eight-seat Hawker 750 for about 1.2 million rubles.
This way, you can rent the jet that is most economical for your particular trip.
Not every plane can complete every kind of route. Small plane owners will have to book a large plane or buy a commercial charter ticket to make the long flight. In addition, the airports of Saint Bart and Courchevel have shorter runways that are not suitable for larger aircraft.
When you book a private jet, you can always be sure to land where you need to be.
Passengers of private jets can also take advantage of the offers from the “Empty leg” section – these are flights when someone orders a one-way charter and the plane has to be returned to the base or to the next point of the order without passengers on board. “Empty leg” offers an extraordinary discount, sometimes up to 75% off the price of a regular charter, as otherwise the plane would fly empty.
